3D printer gun parts found in Manchester

Greater Manchester Police uncovered some 3d printed components, which a plastic magazine and trigger, could be fitted together to make a firearm and a 3D printer in Wythenshawe on Thursday.

A plastic magazine, trigger and a 3D printer

One senior officer claimed organised crime gangs are acquiring technology to make guns ‘in the privacy of their own home’ and “forensic experts were assessing whether the parts could make a genuine gun” Greater Manchester Police reported.

Det Insp Chris Mossop, of Greater Manchester Police, told Sky News: ‘These could be the next generation of firearms.’

The discovery is believed to be “first ever seizure of this kind in the UK” and confirms the worst fears of security chiefs as police fear terrorists and criminals could use the machines and plans that are readily available to download online to circumvent gun controls.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy said that 3D printer guns are ‘a new phenomenon’.

He said: ‘We will really need to look at this new development. Certainly we feel that we are having success – and the important thing is not to be defeatist about this.

‘It is not to think that we’ll never win that these people are cleverer than us, they are not, they are just more violent than us.’